Registering received email documents in a blockchain

Abstract

A permissioned blockchain uses off-chain storage to establish integrity and no-later-than date-of-existence for documents, leveraging blockchain records that include hash values representing documents. After registration, if a document's integrity or date is challenged, the document is hashed again, and the new hash value is compared with the record. A provable date-of-existence for the block establishes a no-later-than date-of-existence for the document. Integrity verification codes (IVCs) can include multiple hash values, increasing preimage resistance against quantum computing. Off-chain storage preserves document confidentiality and efficient records ease storage burdens for distributed blockchain copies. Permissioning monetizes operations and enforces record content rules to avoid problematic material (e.g., GDPR violations, obscenities) for long-term viability. The priority parent application preceded Bitcoin; earlier terms for “block” and “blockchain” are “edition” and “edition chain.” Receiving an email at an inbox triggers generation of a blockchain record for the email (or attachment) and submission to the blockchain.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of registering received electronic messages documents in a blockchain, the method comprising:
 providing a first node on a computer network;   receiving, at the first node, a first electronic message from a first submitter;   receiving, at the first node, a second electronic message from a second submitter, wherein the second submitter is different than the first submitter, and wherein the second electronic message is different than the first electronic message;   generating, for the first electronic message, a first record, wherein the first record comprises at least a portion of a hash function message digest for the first electronic message;   generating, for the second electronic message, a second record, wherein the second record comprises at least a portion of a hash function message digest for the second electronic message;   appending the first record and the second record to an open first document dating list (DDL) block;   closing the first DDL block, wherein closing the first DDL block comprises generating a first block record for the first DDL block;   receiving, at the first node, a third electronic message from a third submitter, wherein the third submitter is different than the first and second submitters, and wherein the third electronic message is different than the first and second electronic messages;   generating, for the third electronic message, a third record, wherein the third record comprises at least a portion of a hash function message digest for the third electronic message;   appending the first block record and the third record to an open second DDL block, thereby chaining the first DDL block with the second DDL block to create a set of chained DDL blocks.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first node comprises an email inbox. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the electronic messages comprises an email, and wherein generating at least one of the records comprises generating a record for an attached document. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the hash function message digests is a Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) family message digest. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein each of the records comprises at least a portion of two hash function message digests for the respective electronic message or the first block. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 adding, to each of the records, a timestamp. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 adding, to each of the records, a record index. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein each of the records is 256 hexadecimal characters long. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first DDL block does not contain either the first electronic message or the second electronic message, and wherein the second DDL block does not contain the third electronic message. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 providing, to each of the submitters, an acknowledgement that the respective record has been generated. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising:
 responsive to the first submitter receiving the acknowledgement that the first record has been generated, storing the acknowledgement with a copy of the first electronic message. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 responsive to the first submitter not receiving, within a time-out period, an acknowledgement that the first record has been generated, resubmitting the first electronic message. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 providing, to the first submitter, an identification of the first DDL block or a record index for the first record; 
 providing, to the second submitter, an identification of the first DDL block or a record index for the second record; and 
 providing, to the third submitter, an identification of the second DDL block or a record index for the third record. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 generating a bill for at least one of the first, second, and third submitters; and 
 receiving payment for the at least one bill. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the at least one bill reflects a count of submissions received from the respective submitter. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the at least one bill reflects a subscription service permitting a certain count of submissions during a time interval, with an extra charge for a number above the allotted amount 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the at least one bill reflects a charge for a count of submissions during the time interval above the allotted count for the subscription service. 
     
     
         18 . A computer implemented method of method of registering received electronic messages documents in a blockchain, the method executable by a processor, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a first node on a computer network, a first electronic message from a first submitter;   receiving, at the first node, a second electronic message from a second submitter, wherein the second submitter is different than the first submitter, and wherein the second electronic message is different than the first electronic message;   generating, for the first electronic message, a first record, wherein the first record comprises at least a portion of a hash function message digest for the first electronic message;   generating, for the second electronic message, a second record, wherein the second record comprises at least a portion of a hash function message digest for the second electronic message;   appending the first record and the second record to an open first document dating list (DDL) block, wherein the first DDL block does not contain either the first electronic message or the second electronic message;   closing the first DDL block, wherein closing the first DDL block comprises generating a first block record for the first DDL block;   receiving, at the first node, a third electronic message from a third submitter, wherein the third submitter is different than the first and second submitters, and wherein the third electronic message is different than the first and second electronic messages;   generating, for the third electronic message, a third record, wherein the third record comprises at least a portion of a hash function message digest for the third electronic message;   appending the first block record and the third record to an open second DDL block, thereby chaining the first DDL block with the second DDL block to create a set of chained DDL blocks.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein at least one of the electronic messages comprises an email, and wherein generating at least one of the records comprises generating a record for an attached document. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising:
 adding, to each of the records, at least one of a timestamp and a record index; and 
 providing, to each of the submitters, an acknowledgement.